Robin Wright Fought to Save House Of Cards After Kevin Spacey's Firing

[Ulquiorra]

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Robin Wright fought to save the jobs of the House of Cards cast and crew after the Kevin Spacey scandal nearly torpedoed season 6, which was initially running smoothly in production last fall. However, when Anthony Rapp and others accused Spacey of sexual assault, the production of the hot Netflix show went into chaos.

The Beau Willimon-created political drama debuted in February of 2013 and became an instant hit. Though there were rumors that the show was going to end soon, even before Spacey's scandal, many didn't expect such an abrupt stop. However, season 6 eventually resumed production, and it was recently revealed that Wright's character, new president Claire Underwood, would be the star of the new season. The show will end after season 6, but seems likely to produce at least one spinoff, possibly centering on Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly). Stamper has long-served as Frank Underwood's faithful fixer, but it remains to be seen what he'll be doing with his life now that his boss is out of the picture.

Patricia Clarkson, who plays the role of the manipulative Jane Davis on the show, told the panel on The Talk (via Deadline) that Robin Wright fought tooth and nail to keep House of Cards going. "Robin led all of this charge so that people would save their livelihoods, because when the show goes away, some people don’t get paid,” Clarkson claimed. She also revealed that the producers "killed themselves" to rethink the whole show following Spacey's exit.
 

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House of Cards is far from the first show to be affected by the real life bad behavior of its main star, although Spacey's case is obviously a lot more severe than most. The production of CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men famously went into disarray after its star, Charlie Sheen, suffered a public meltdown and was fired in 2011. Roseanne, which scored incredible ratings when rebooted earlier this year, stopped production immediately after its lead, Roseanne Barr, tweeted a shockingly racist statement about President Obama's former senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Then, there are all the various shows and movies which were halted or retooled after the ongoing #MeToo movement produced a fierce backlash against sexual misbehavior on set, leading to damaged careers for multiple powerful men.

Robin Wright was right to worry about the staff behind the production of House of Cards. They, like others who work on shows that become scandalized, worry about their future as well as the well-being of their families. Any given film or television series employs hundreds, if not thousands, of far from rich "below-the-line" employees that do important work behind the scenes to make sure a production operates smoothly. Due to the competitive nature of Hollywood, many of these people have a difficult time finding new jobs after being released from their current ones. This is something Kevin Spacey, Roseanne Barr, and others should really have thought about before choosing to behave unprofessionally and improperly. It's great that the staff of House of Cards was able to keep their jobs for a little longer thanks to Robin Wright, but this isn't always the case.

House of Cards season 6 premieres in late 2018 on Netflix.